What term refers to the controllable variables the company puts together to satisfy a target group?

Asked by drchirochic on coursehero.com

Marketing and Market Share

Before describing the concept of market share, it is important to understand the marketing management process and different types of marketing. When engaging in the marketing management process, two kinds of marketing need to be considered: mass marketing and target marketing. Mass marketing assumes that everyone is a potential customer of a product or service. Consider the example of the product of salt, which is assumed to be in demand by all. A salt company such as Morton’s might then market the same way to all users, because most users have the same needs and wants for salt.

A target market is a fairly homogeneous group of customers to whom a company wishes to appeal. For example, the maker of a particular brand of cereal that is oriented toward health or weight loss may need to target a different group than would the maker of a cereal with a lot of sugar. Target marketing is the process of tailoring a set of marketing strategies to meet the needs of a specific group of target customers. While mass marketing might be considered a “shotgun” approach, target marketing might be considered a “rifle” approach.

Marketing strategy defines the marketing mix—the variables that the company employs to attract and meet the needs of a target market. The field of marketing refers to the controllable variables of the marketing mix as the four Ps of marketing: product, place (distribution), promotion, and price. Why are marketing strategies important? Companies use marketing strategies to increase their profitability by growing their market share.

For this week’s Discussion, you examine marketing strategies to explore how a company can expand its market share.

To prepare for the Discussion:

Read this week’s course text chapters. Consider the roles marketing plays in firms and the two essential elements of a marketing strategy: a target market and a marketing mix.
Read the Comstock, Gulati, and Liguori (2010) article.
After reviewing the Readings, select a company that currently operates domestically in the United States or your home country.
Consider the marketing strategies the company you selected can employ to grow its market share in the United States.
Then, consider whether the company should use the same marketing strategy or a different one to gain market share in an international market.

Post by Day 3 the following:

A brief description of the company you selected, including its products or services and the market or markets it serves.
Describe two marketing strategies that firms can select for growing their market share domestically.
Explain which of the two marketing strategies you selected should be adopted by your chosen company to continue its growth in its current domestic market and explain why this strategy would be effective.
Explain whether the company should use this same marketing strategy to grow internationally or into other markets or regions or whether it needs to employ a different one.
Give an example of how the marketing strategy (or strategies) you have selected would apply in the domestic and international context. Provide a rationale to support your conclusions.

General Guidance: Your original post, due by Day 3, will typically be 3–4 paragraphs in length as a general expectation/estimate. Your responses, due by Day 5, will typically be 1–2 paragraphs. Refer to the rubric for the Week 1 Discussion for grading elements and criteria. Your Instructor will use the rubric to assess your work.

COPY AND PASTE THE LINK

https://services.hbsp.harvard.edu/services/proxy/content/26533289/51015015/f90b2d8dab671baac151b85e83158cc0

PLEASE USE REFERENCES

• Concerned with all decisions involved in getting the “right” product to the target markets Place.
• Reached people through a channel of distribution (series of firms that participate in flow of products from producer to consumer.

Marketing Mix

The marketing mix is "the controllable variables the company puts together to satisfy the target market" (Perreault and McCarthy, 2004). The target market is the group of customers the company wants to attract or appeal to with the service or product. The marketing mix includes four elements called the four P's of marketing: product, place, price and promotion. These four elements work together to produce a profit. Changing any one of the four will affect the results of the other three. The marketer uses the marketing mix to develop the marketing strategy; thus, determining the marketing mix is an important first step in the process. "It takes proper coordination, planning and use of each of these elements to reach the consumers in one's target market". (Lake, 2006).

Product

The first element in the four P's is product. Product is the "good or service for the target's needs" (Perreault, 2004). In marketing, product is not simply the physical item or service.

The four unique elements to services include:

A. Independence, intangibility, inventory, and inception

B. Independence, increase, inventory, and intangibility

C. Intangibility, inconsistency, inseparability, and inventory

D. Intangibility, independence, inseparability, and inventory